Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet relatives and victims of the Stardust disaster to discuss their continuing concerns about the fire and its aftermath. Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent, reports.
Speaking during Leader's Questions in the Dáil yesterday, he said he and the Minister for Justice would be happy to consider any new evidence passed to the Garda for forensic analysis.
He said there were no plans for a new inquiry, but the Department of Justice, with the Garda and forensic scientists, would consider any new evidence concerning the tragedy.
Antoinette Keegan, a spokeswoman for the Stardust Victims' Committee, last night welcomed the invitation to meet Mr Ahern during a protest at the scene of the tragedy.
"This will be the first time to meet with him. On previous occasions it has been his representatives we have met with.
"We are content that we have the evidence needed to reopen the inquiry, and we will be submitting this evidence to the Department of Justice and the Taoiseach by the end of the week."
The tribunal of inquiry into the causes of the disaster was conducted by Mr Justice Keane in 1981, within months of the fire.
In his report he found "on the balance of probabilities" that the fire was started deliberately.
He also found that the scale of the deaths and injuries was greatly increased by the fact that an orderly evacuation was prevented by obstruction and a policy of locking a number of exit doors.
The owners of the Stardust, Patrick and Eamonn Butterly, later sued Dublin Corporation for malicious damage on the basis that the fire was started deliberately. They were awarded almost £600,000 in damages.
In a statement yesterday, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he and his department would assist the families in any way they could.
He said they had already, in 2004, forwarded a report prepared on behalf of the Stardust committee to the Garda commissioner and the forensic science laboratory.
"Both the Garda Commissioner and the forensic science laboratory responded to the department stating that the report contained no new evidence that would warrant An Garda Síochána revisiting the investigation."
He stressed that any further submissions would be carefully considered by the department, and it would be in contact with the committee again. If there was any new information or advice he could offer he would meet them.
Last night RTÉ's Prime Time programme put forward what it claimed was new evidence concerning the source and cause of the fire. This related to the contents of a storeroom near the roof of the Stardust which contained flammable material, including floor wax, table polish, cloths and toilet rolls. The complete list of the contents of this storeroom was not available to the tribunal.
The programme featured three fire experts stating that the contents of this storeroom were the likely source of the fire. They also drew attention to reports of electrical over-heating in the area. They rejected the arson theory.